The Ties that Bind Canada / Des liens qui unissent notre pays

Stereocards, a pair of mounted photographs that give a three-dimensional view when observed through a viewer, were hugely popular and became mass-produced from the mid-19th century. Companies began selling stereo views in box sets and marketed them as a form of experiential education. This card is one of many that would have been produced by the Keystone View Company, one of the largest card manufacturers.

The back of this card contains many details about the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad that would have been edifying to viewers at the time:

“The opening of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad was hailed with joy by miner and prospector alike. Transporting passengers and baggage to the White Horse Rapids, where they could transfer to steamboats of the upper Yukon and so reach the Klondike, it saved many a weary mile and many a long day of toilsome travel afoot. The entry of the first train into the famous White Pass was a gala occasion. Dressed in their best, the few who could secure a place on it hastened to take advantage of the privilege, their luggage in canvas bag, corded trunk, or securely knotted package. As we see, the train was strictly utilitarian, its best accommodation for passengers being an open freight truck. Those who journeyed into the interior of Alaska in those days neither asked nor expected luxuries; they were only too happy to escape privation and peril.”